1. Welcome to Secondary Literacy
Please take a seat at your content-area table:
Math
Social Studies and Special Education
English/Language Arts, Foreign Language, Art
Sciences
Write your name on a name tent and a factoid about yourself on the inside

2. First thought…
“Find your place on the planet. Dig in, and take responsibility from there.”
Gary Snyder
Poet

3. WHY ARE SECONDARY TEXTS DIFFICULT? SECONDARY LITERACY 1
Domenica Vilhotti
Literacy Specialist

4. Facts About Literacy
“So strong is the link between literacy and being a useful member of society that some states use grade-level reading statistics as a factor in projecting future prison construction.”
Bob Chase, former President, NEA

5. Facts About Literacy
“To compete in the global information economy, young people today need literacy skills far more advanced than have been required of any previous generation. The fastest growing jobs make the highest literacy and education demands.”
Reading To Achieve: A Governor’s Guide to Adolescent Literacy, 2005

6. Facts About Literacy
“Forty percent of high school graduates lack the reading and writing skills that employers seek, and almost a third of high school graduates who enroll in college require remediation.”
Reading To Achieve: A Governor’s Guide to Adolescent Literacy, 2005

7. Secondary Literacy Connections
“Many struggling readers have failed more often than they have succeeded in the past, so now they figured, ‘Why try?’” (13)
Shannon Dingle, RGV ’03
6th-8th Grade Special Education
Wake County Public School

8. Secondary Literacy Connections
“I was shocked that my students reached high school without mastering the basic skills of reading and writing. My first year, the majority of my students read on a third to fifth grade level, and a class could range from pre-primer to 9th grade.” (1)
Bernard Weber Mississippi Delta ’ th Grade Global Studies

9. DO NOW
In your journal, reflect in writing for a few minutes on one or more of the facts presented about literacy.

10. What are we learning? CMWBAT…
Describe the different components of reading
Explain how different texts make different demands on readers
Identify the specific demands posed by texts in specific content areas

11. The achievement gap is a literacy gap
What are we realizing?
The achievement gap is a literacy gap
Teaching literacy is our job

12. Agenda DO NOW Introduction New Material Examples & Practice
Teaching Literacy is Our Job
Reading Comprehension
What Makes Texts Difficult?
Examples & Practice
Close/Journals

13. Housekeeping
Name tents
Signing in
Toolkit
Journal

15. Teaching Literacy Is Our Job.
Artifact: Michael’s Science Test
CM Binder: page ___
Think/Pair/Share
What is keeping Michael from having success with this material?
Literacy-wise, what could have gone wrong?

16. Think/Pair/Share
What is keeping Michael from having success with this material?
Literacy-wise, what could have gone wrong?

17. The Blenny
The Wrasse .

18. Share Does literacy play a role in learning “stuff”?
Does literacy help us assess knowledge in content classes?
Does this assessment tell us much about what Michael may or may not know?
Which skills does Michael need to be able to read the questions?
Which components go into Michael being able to write an answer?
What role might fluency play?

19. So what…to be successful?
All these components need to be in place for our students to be able to demonstrate what they know in science and all other content areas.

20. Don’t Let the Blenny Fool You

21. Analogy challenge
How is a rope analogous to reading comprehension?

22. The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled Reading
(Scarborough, 2001)
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE
LANGUAGE STRUCTURES
VERBAL REASONING
LITERACY KNOWLEDGE
PHON. AWARENESS
DECODING (and SPELLING)
SIGHT RECOGNITION
SKILLED READING:
fluent execution and
coordination of word
recognition and text
comprehension.
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION
WORD RECOGNITION
increasingly
automatic
strategic
Skilled Reading- fluent coordination of word reading and comprehension processes
Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.

23. The Take-Away…
For students to develop in reading, their comprehension skills must become increasingly strategic while their word recognition skills become increasingly automatic.

24. Reading Comprehension
Research & CMs’ experiences indicate the following:
A minority of our students will struggle with decoding words
bottom strands
Some will struggle with fluency
to tie the bottom strands together
Most will struggle to comprehend content area text
tying the top strands together

25. Reading Comprehension
A minority of our students will struggle with decoding words
Some will struggle with fluency
Most will struggle to comprehend content area text
EVOLUTIONARY
Is there evolutionary pressure for the blenny to look like the wrasse? Explain what causes the presence or absence of this evolutionary pressure.

26. Reading Comprehension is an Interactive Process
CM Binder: page 105
RAND Model, 2002

27. How might texts, readers and activities (purposes) differ
How might texts, readers and activities (purposes) differ? Think within each category.
For example READERS can be English Language Learners (ELLs), above grade level, unmotivated…
Take 3 minutes in your groups

28. Readers
Texts
Activities

29. Reading Comprehension is an Interactive Process
Today’s Session
RAND Model, 2002

30. What makes texts difficult?
Vocabulary usage
e.g., figurative language, technical terms, idiomatic expressions
Background knowledge
Assumptions made by text (e.g., photosynthesis, American culture)
Organization and format
e.g., headings, diagrams, main idea and supporting details, hyperlinks
Level of engagement
Some texts are loved by 12 year olds, others by 16 year olds, some may be disliked by all

31. ISAT: connections & applications
Vocabulary Usage
Spanish I Objective
SWBAT describe foods using 5 adjectives in their singular and plural forms using the phrases ¿Cómo es/son _____? and Es/son _____.
How might vocabulary usage create a specific challenge in this text or objective?

32. ISAT: connections & applications
Background Knowledge
African American History Objective
SWBAT analyze the contributions and accomplishments of West African societies prior to slavery.
How might background knowledge create a specific challenge in this text or objective?

33. ISAT: connections & applications
Organization & Format
Biology Objective
SWBAT use experimental data to create a line graph.
How might textual format create a specific challenge in this objective?

34. Level of Engagement
The Challenge: translating “I’m bored”

35. Content Area Groups CM Binder: page __
Read your content area sample text together
Identify the demands these texts make on readers and complete the middle column of the graphic organizer “Text Demands.”
This graphic organizer will be collected as your CM output
Take 5 minutes to work on the middle column

36. Text Demands Graphic Organizer
How would you teach it?
Vocabulary
Background Knowledge
Organization
Engagement .

37. DEBRIEF What textual demands are typical for… Math texts?
Science texts?
Social Studies texts?
Language Arts texts?

38. Text Demands Graphic Organizer
Math
Social Studies
Science
ELA
Vocabulary
Background Knowledge
Organization
Engagement .

39. SYNTHESIZE
At the bottom of your organizer, write 4 one-sentence summaries – one to capture the greatest challenge most prevalent in each textual demand in your content area text
Take 2 minutes

40. Reading Comprehension is an Interactive Process
Today’s Session
RAND Model, 2002

41. TAKE-AWAYS… Teaching literacy is our job
The bottom line:
Different texts make different demands on readers
That means they require different skills and knowledge from readers and different instruction from teachers.
Teaching literacy is our job

42. So – how do we teach it? Math Social Studies Science ELA Vocabulary
Background Knowledge
Organization
Engagement

43. Pair Practice: how would you teach it?
List ideas for teaching each of the four text demands you identified in the third column of the handout
Break into pairs
Take 5 minutes
Then, compare notes with the rest of your group

44. Pair Practice: debrief
What was challenging about this process?
What has this process taught you about how to start planning literacy instruction?
Using these two questions, lead 5 minute discussion/reflection.
Key points: it is helpful to start with the text you want students to read and have a purpose in mind.

45. QUESTION
On the back of your graphic organizer, write two questions:
What is your biggest question about the demands that texts in your content area make on readers?
What is your biggest question about how to address these text demands in your classroom instruction?

46. What did we learn?

47. The Bottom Line
Literacy has many components, each of which is essential to achievement.
Teaching students the specific skills and knowledge they need to read to understand text in your content area is critical.

48. Why is Literacy important?
Achievement Gap = Literacy Gap
Our students’ access to college and careers hinge on their advanced literacy skills.
Teaching literacy is our job.

49. Overview of the Secondary Literacy Course
Core Session 1: Why are Secondary Texts Difficult?
Core Session 2: Reading Purposefully and Strategically
Core Session 3: Building Comprehension Before, During, and After Reading .

50. Overview of the Secondary Literacy Course
Core Session 4: Integrating Informal Writing
Core Session 5: Teaching Vocabulary
Core Session 6: Decoding and Fluency

51. Differentiated & Placement-Specific Sessions:
The Formal Writing Process
How to Read Non-fiction Texts
Motivating Struggling Readers
Literacy Diagnostics

52. Check-out
Journal returned
Hand-out turned in